Windy Freestyle Session at West Wittering Beach

Posted on by Emile Kott

We have had some pretty decent sessions this season. And last Monday was another epic day at West Wittering with decent waves at high tide and great flat water conditions in the Wittering trench.

The freestyle boys turned up fresh from Windfest at Poole – Chris Muzza Murray, Sam Ross, Max Rowe, John from the beach, Jamie Drummond, and John Palmer were all out ripping on the trench. People on the beach stood by the lagoon watching the new school freestyle action. Max Rowe said on the beach that he had one of best freestyle sessions of the year due the super strong winds and flat water.

Dave White (editor of boards mag and production speed record holder) and his son Reece was also out ripping at high and low tide. Dave also went sailing with Holly after she got back from school where she undertook her first mission above 35 knots!

Nik Baker turned up at high tide and brought with him the new Fanatic 2012 Quad and North Hero for a test drive (we will feature more about the gear test later).

Loads of people from the club were in on the action: Levon on his 5m kite, Paul Simmons, Inness, Jonny Boyce, Roul, Kev, John and Ru Hamer. Chris Rosco and Grahme P hit the late low tide and had themselves a good wave session.

Here are a couple video clips to tease you further if you didnt get out on the water..

Day of Watersports Joy – West Wittering Beach

Posted on by Emile Kott

Some days it is great just being on the water. And sunday was just one of those fine days. It wasn’t just good, it was EPIC! People were out on the water from early doors all way through the tide until the last ounch of low tide. There were some decent chunks at high tide and at low tide the lagoon was like a flat-water speed track.

Loads of people were out and it was great to see how many kids on the water. Justin’s crowd, Jack and Jenna, James and Alex ripping up at high tide, Holly the Bassett was out at mid tide getting some top tips from ex British champ Julian Anderson. Jules managed to clock 35 knots on his wave board yesterday!!!

There was plenty of kite action going on with Stu ripping some holes in the surf – Pete Swan had so much action he couldn’t take any more….

A big thanks to Innes for rescuing Rob Langley who was about to have a long swim – Rosco had to launch the Jet Ski to pull in a drowned kiter.

Here is video link of some freestyle action of last week…

To enlarge the video – hover your mouse over the image and click on the full screen button/arrows

West Wittering Action in July 2011

Posted on by Emile Kott
I am either suffering from amnesia or we have just had so many good days this July that I can’t remember which day was which. My hands are calloused, my feet leave skin wherever I go and I look like I’ve been tangoed.
There isn’t much story to this blog-entry, we just have a load of photos that we wanted to upload. There is a selection from Holly and Simon Basset, taken from the beach as well as some pretty decent ‘self-love’ GoPro shots from Simon and Stuart Holland on his kite-board.
There has been some standout sailing from all the West Wittering regulars this month. Most notably, the kids have been ripping it up – the Goodwins and Pettits are becoming part of the beach furniture and Holly Bassett has been flying around with a new love for the sport. Jess Napper is pretty much a full time kiter (I think she goes to work in her time-off) and is now showing up some of the boys with her skills. Paul Simmons is getting dangerously close to consistent back loops and Justin Goodwin’s forwards are looking very stylish.

Francisco Goya’s Demo in West Wittering

Posted on by Emile Kott

Francisco Goya headed over to West Wittering Windsurf Club on Saturday 9th July. With the help of Rick from Zero Gravity, he brought a selection of 2011 and 2012 Goya boards and sails for demo.

Francisco and Rick arrived in the early morning and were greeted by warm sunshine and a blissful, summer, 20 knot breeze. It was low tide at West Wittering and the ‘trench’ just inside Chichester Harbour mouth provided some of the best possible demo conditions – 5.3 weather, warm water and hot sunshine!

Francisco Goya has an incredible amount of infectious enthusiasm for the sport and was getting everyone on the water on the new gear, running from sail to sail to make sure that not a single piece of gear went out without him tweaking it to perfection whilst explaining exactly what and why he was doing it.

Francisco headed down to the water to coach the kids from the water’s edge and later mentioned that he couldn’t believe how good the sailing was at West Wittering and how perfect it was for everyone to get out on the water together.

The conditions in West Wittering on days like this are always easy and fun for all – flat water in the lagoons and trench and small waves breaking onto the sandbars for jumping.

The day before, actually made Emile and Rossco’s day when they went sailing with Francisco on 4.2s in nice little waves just in front of West Wittering Windsurf Club (unfortunately everyone was having far too much fun to grab a camera!)

Everyone made the most of the Goya demo gear, which included the Goya 2011 Custom Quads, Goya Ones, Goya FXR freeride boards and 2011 and 2012 Eclipse, Guru and Banzai Sails. 2XS have been selling Goya boards for a while now and will be shortly adding the Goya Sail quiver to the website.

The West Wittering Windsurf Club barbecue was fired up for lunch and Francisco, who is normally nearly vegan, was taken in by the smell of Waitrose finest…

It was a truly great day and one of the best demos we have ever seen. The 60 year age range present gave testament to this and more importantly than anything else, everyone had fun!

Mention has to be made of the West Wittering club member Nick De Candole. In his rush to get out on the water with his hero, not only did he forget to lock his van but also to actually turn the engine off… Nice of him to keep the carpark warm for us all…

Filming Yourself on the Water with a GoPro Camera

Posted on by Emile Kott

If you like the idea of taking 5 mega pixel photos and HD video of yourself while you are playing on the water, then you should check out GoPro Cameras.

What do you need?
This varies slightly depending on what you want to use it for. When you are making a video or taking photos, it always makes it more interesting to have a number of different angles. This can be achieved by getting different GoPro Camera mounts.

For all sports, you need a camera and a waterproof housing. A sensible way to start is with a GoPro Helmet Hero HD Camera and Housing. Along with an SD card to record your footage, this give you everything that you need to get started. The Helmet Hero package gives you everything that you need to mount that camera to a helmet or flat surface as well as the camera itself, a waterproof housing and a rechargeable lithium battery.

Surfing and SUP
If you want to use your GoPro for surfing and SUP then it’s worth checking out the GoPro Surfboard Mount accessory kit. As well as a decent sized sticky pad, this kit includes an FCS style plug mount that any board shaper or repairer can fit for you to the deck of your board.

Windsurfing
If you want to use your GoPro for windsurfing then a GoPro mast mount and GoPro boom mount can get some great angles. A GoPro board mount is also worth thinking about.

Kitesurfing
Thinking about using your GoPro camera for kitesurfing?  The Kite Hero Kitesurfing mount attaches to your kite lines so that you can film and photograph yourself.
  

West Wittering Beach Action (Late May 2011)

Posted on by Emile Kott

Here are some snaps of last week’s action on West Wittering Beach. The word awesome springs to mind. More Southwesterly, please!

Emile, Simon and Roscoe had a killer session half way down the ebach on thursday. The waves were peeling perfectly along the sandbar to the east and I reckon we got 50+ bottom turns each!

Stu got some great kite shots on his GoPro. The West Wittering Trench was amazing on Sunday and Dick Dale Chips and others were ripping into some flat water love.

James, Jack and Emily (the young-guns) were giving it some in the waves and Chris was kiting after missing the photos last weekend. Mark Twist, Jand, Justin and others were enjoying the action.

West Wittering, once again, at its best. GoPro shots from Simon and Emile, beachshots by Simon Bassett and GoPro kite shots from Stu Holland.

The Wind Came Back!

Posted on by Emile Kott

After what seemed like the longest windless spell in history, the wind has finally returned over the last week.

On Sunday 22nd May, 65 people signed out at West Wittering Windsurf Club. Sailing around watching was akin to watching junkies finally getting their fix after a long spell of cold turkey. Moves were being pulled everywhere as if the world was about to end and this was the last chance to express yourself on the water.

The greatest thing, though, was to see so many smiling happy faces on the beach. Everyone was loving the windy, sunny conditions.

The usual suspects of Paul Hatton, the Perrys, Antony Zavos, Dris Arrissa, Xavier Tornambie, Adrian West, Kyle McGinn, Neal Gent, Jess Napper, Olivia, Andy Tomlinson, Mike McChesney, John Hamer, Justin, Emily and Leah Goodwin, Graham and Jack Pettit, James Arnelle-Smith, the Deblabys, Alex and Frank McKirgan and Levon and the early morning kite crew.

Sorry there aren’t more kiting photos – there were loads of people out loving it but we didn’t make it down the beach with the camera at low tide.

There were also some ‘men from the 90s’: Julian Anderson and Julian Da Vall.

Anderson was showing his pro-heritage with some big stalled forwards. Da Vall was pulling off some huge backloop attempts and endo-forwards. Timo Mullen made a guest appearance and made the most of the conditions with some fantastic jumping and riding.

Windsurfing and kitesurfing can be frustrating sports. Disappearing forecasts, dying conditions and family and work commitments all make these weather-reliant sports hard to fit in with modern, busy lives.

Absence, however, definitely makes the heart grow fonder and there is no chance of taking any moment of water time for granted when they are this few and far between.

The wind carried on blowing throughout Monday and is now giving us a bit of a rest until Thursday when it looks like it will return and blow throughout the bank holiday weekend.

Simon Bassett took the photos shown. The mast-mount shots were taken using a carbon mast-mount that is so light, you don’t even notice it on your rig! The camera was a standard GoPro HD

Thanks to Mark Twist who sent us these fantastic GoPro shots too:

Simon was also testing the new GoPro LCD Backpack attachment – the screen attaches to your GoPro HD and along with a slightly larger water-housing, allows you instant feedback on any filming or photos you have taken.

2XS will have these in stock shortly. They cost £89.99. Call us if you want to make a pre-order (01243 512 552)

Sorry we didn’t get down at low-tide to get more kiting action.

West Wittering SUP Sessions February 2011

Posted on by Emile Kott

February has delivered some very decent swell so far. On Thursday 17th Feb, Neal Gent, Matt Argyle, Simon Bassett and Emile Kott got to West Wittering Beach just after first light. The long period swell was hitting the outer banks perfectly and there was a left hander peeling all the way from in front of West Wittering Windsurf club to East Head!

It was hard work as the 5m and tides and rip were both trying to send you over to Itchenor! Everyone got their fair share of waves though, with Neal Gent on particularly fine form, working his Nah Skwell 8’8 and getting “some of the best Wittering waves he has ever had!”

Jem “lie-in” Hall turned up at about 8.30am and was in complete disbelief at the wave quality. He was uncharacteristically quiet and didn’t say “bender” once!

Have a look at some of the photos and see below for Sunday!

The swell continued to pump and a second pulse arrived on Sunday morning, just in time for the wind to swing offshore and go light. Jock Patterson headed over from Brighton to join Simon Bassett, Stuart Holland and a selection of others.

It was particularly impressive to see Justin Goodwin and James Arnelle-Smith going for it two-up in a kayak. We’re pretty sure that Justin looks more scared than James!

So, it looks like February is the month for waves in the UK… Long may it continue!

Photos by Simon Bassett, Matt Argyle and Holly Bassett

A Weekend of Wind (finally)

Posted on by Emile Kott

After a long wait and some skunking forecasts, this weekend just gone finally delivered some strong wind. West Wittering saw 40 knots + on Friday and Saturday with some left over to Sunday as well.

It was great to see so many people out in February, it felt like a spring day! We had gusty 40 knots on Saturyday and a gusty 25 knots on sunday. There were some good size chunks on Saturday and it was nice to get back in the water again. Even though the sea temperature is cold at the moment, the new winter wetsuits are very warm and most people had a hood with no gloves.

There were some no-shows – Perry on a stag do and Hatton doing DIY (on a windy day!!!). Great to see James (12) and Emily (13) out ripping in the strong winds. Justin, Andy Richardson and Adrian (now he’s got his kiteboard back…), Stu Holland, Paul Simmons, Adam and the early doors kite crew. Paddy (we’re still waiting for your kite footage!), Captain Crilley, Nev, Ian, Emile, Neal, Tim, Patrick, Westy, Pat, Glynn, Innes, Xav, Dan Smith and plenty of others!

Here are a few pics that Simon snapped in the rain. The first one is of Andy Chater who has about a foot and a half of titanium in his leg as well as a whole pile of bolts! He could hardly walk this time in 2010 after a ski accident! Nice table-top!

Also, have a look at this little video of Paul Simmons and Neal Gent playing with a GoPro HD and mast mount…

Looking forward to the next session! If you have any pics, please send them over and we will get them up on the web. [email protected]